Hayley Virgil

The American Association for Cancer Research revealed a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report, which highlights disparities in cancer incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and survival, along with a heavy emphasis on racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care.

Rami Manochakian, MD, discusses the role of osimertinib in patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC, strategies for treatment following progression on the third-generation TKI, and ongoing research efforts to further improve care.

Several immunotherapeutic options are available for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), allowing decisions to be made based on histology, PD-L1 expression, and patient preference in regard to their treatment goals. Looking ahead, there may also be efficacy in moving immunotherapy drugs up into the resectable, early-stage setting

Following the results of the SOLO-1 trial, maintenance PARP inhibitors have become the standard of care for patients with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer but overall survival data are needed to confirm their potentially curative benefit.

December 11, 2020 - Tucatinib in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine significantly prolonged the time to deterioration of health-related quality of life in patients with HER2- positive metastatic breast cancer with brain metastases.

December 10, 2020 - The addition of neoadjuvant atezolizumab to nab-paclitaxel followed by doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide was found to improve pathologic complete responses compared with placebo plus chemotherapy in patients with early triple-negative breast cancer without adding additional treatment burden to patients.

December 9, 2020 - The artificial intelligence–digital breast cancer risk discrimination platform PreciseDx was able to classify patients with Oncotype Dx low-risk recurrence scores with high accuracy using only hematoxylin and eosin stain images and limited clinical data.

Renata Ferrarotto, MD, discusses trilaciclib’s unique mechanism of action in small cell lung cancer and the data that led to its FDA designation.

December 9, 2020 — The BCMA-targeted antibody-drug conjugate MEDI2228 showed promising clinical efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, with triple-refractory disease experiencing maintained responses.

December 8, 2020 — Although updated guidelines and targeted therapies have led to the routine recommendation of germline genetic testing for patients with prostate cancer, increasing demand for tests and limited access to genetics providers have created an unmet need.

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who received treatment with single-agent acalabrutinib experienced a low incidence of cardiac toxicities leading to treatment discontinuation.

December 7, 2020 - Survival rates of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who experience relapse following hematopoietic cell transplantation has considerably improved within the past few years, possibly due to the increased use of immunotherapy agents.

December 7, 2020 - The survival benefit of the novel agent fruquintinib will be tested during the phase 3 FRESCO-2 trial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who are either intolerant to or have received 3 prior lines of chemotherapy.

December 6, 2020 - Self-reported black race was found to be the most important factor associated with poor survival in patients under 60 years old with acute myeloid leukemia.

December 6, 2020 — REGN5458, a BCMA- and CD3-targeted bispecific monoclonal antibody, demonstrated early, deep, and durable responses with acceptable safety and tolerability in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

December 5, 2020 - GTB-3550 TriKE was found to safely drive natural killer cell proliferation in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia.

Nigerian patients with prostate cancer are noted as having higher levels of total plasma peroxide, malondialdehyde, and nitric oxide, as well as lower levels of total antioxidant capacity, even while undergoing androgen-deprivation therapy compared with Nigerian men who don't have prostate cancer.

December 4, 2020 - The first patient with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome has been dosed with a novel combination comprised of the next-generation CD47 blocker ALX148 plus azacitidine as part of the phase 1/2 ASPEN-02 study, the first of several planned studies to examine the agent in those with myeloid malignancies.

December 3, 2020 - A phase 2 trial has expanded to examine the use of the CTLA-4 antibody AGEN1181 in combination with the novel anti–PD-1 human monoclonal antibody balstilimab in patients with colon cancer.

The use of abdominal or pelvic radiotherapy in pediatric patients with cancer could lead to long-term negative impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Cynthia X. Ma, MD, PhD, discusses several research efforts examining mechanisms of resistance to CDK4/6 and PI3K inhibitors in breast cancer and some of the novel combinations that may possess the potential to overcome this challenge.

The combination of 10-day decitabine with venetoclax elicited responses and was found to be well tolerated in older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who are ineligible for chemotherapy.

November 25, 2020 — Ruxolitinib, when administered earlier on in the treatment course, led to high spleen response rates in patients with low-risk International Prognostic Scoring System myelofibrosis.

R. Lor Randall, MD, FACS, discusses limb salvage surgeries that have been made possible through 3D printing, and the technological advances that are helping to increase precision and turnaround times.

November 21, 2020 - The addition of sugemalimab to chemotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful progression-free survival benefit in the frontline treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer versus placebo plus chemotherapy.

The combination of atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxel led to a clinically meaningful overall survival benefit in treatment-naïve patients with locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who had PD-L1 expressing tumor-infiltrating immune cells.

November 20, 2020 - Circulating tumor DNAhas been found to be a reliable indicator of outcomes to treatment with frontline immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with metastatic melanoma, but not in the second-line setting.

The emergence of immunotherapy in the melanoma treatment landscape has shifted the management of the disease; however, no strategies are in place to appropriately stratify patients for these potentially life-saving agents.

Kristen A. Marrone, MD, discusses research efforts with osimertinib in EGFR-mutated lung cancer, overcoming resistance to the agent, and optimizing sequential molecular testing.

Joshua Brody, MD, discusses advances made with CAR T-cell therapy in MCL, the promise of venetoclax in B-cell malignancies, and the potential for bispecific antibody combination regimens in this disease.